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MasterControl PDM Connector for PTC's Windchill Software

Every manufacturing company has product data that must be maintained and controlled. This data can include everything from engineering drawings and manufacturing procedures to 3D CAD files and control plans.

Regulated industries are often forced to manage these types of product data according to strict regulations while juggling multiple data files that are located in separate systems and often are in different file formats.

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White Paper: Six Corporate Oversights of Quality and Compliance Issues in Pharmaceutical Environments

How Can MasterControl PDM Connector for PTC's Windchill Software Help You?

The MasterControl PDM Connector for PTC's Windchill Software is easy to use and allows collaboration and redlining on PDF drawings while guaranteeing that the PDF copy in the MasterControl system stays in sync with native files in the Windchill™ PDM solution.

Here are some examples of how MasterControl's PDM integration system with the PTC Windchill solution facilitates and simplifies the handling of complex CAD files and, in so doing, helps companies in regulatory environments overcome common product data management challenges.

Challenges

MasterControl Solution

Complex Process:

CAD file relationships are intrinsically complicated and can be disrupted by introducing inadequate maintenance and control systems.

Simplified Process:

The MasterControl PDM Connector for PTC's Windchill Software provides users with straightforward means of applying document control to CAD data without forcing designers into a non-native application for managing their CAD files. CAD files are maintained by the native PDM solution while MasterControl creates PDF copies for official document control purposes such as routing, approval, and production.

Manual Process:

Manually revising, publishing, and routing drawings is time consuming and wastes resources throughout the enterprise.

Automated Process:

MasterControl "InfoCards" are created for each new and revised drawing at a user-defined state in the Windchill solution, automating the publishing process and allowing drawings to be routed for collaboration and approval.

Inefficient System:

Manual systems have inherently complex structures, which can lead to limited or no workflow capability for routing and approving crucial CAD product data.

Efficient System:

MasterControl manages and tracks the creation, change, and archiving of all information relating to a product. The automated routing and approval processes provided by the MasterControl PDM Connector for PTC's Windchill software improves workflow functionality and allows effective, seamless handling of CAD files.

Disconnected System:

Product information is scattered throughout several different systems and is often out of sync with data in the PDM solution.

Connected System:

When the link between MasterControl and the Windchill solution is initialized, the system automatically processes packets of files until there are no more files requiring synchronization. The MasterControl system can also be manually synchronized with Windchill and still identify and rectify any gaps that may exist.

Features and Benefits of MasterControl PDM Connector for PTC's Windchill Software

Security: MasterControl PDM integration keeps companies compliant by ensuring that data is kept consistent between systems. MasterControl features electronic signature capabilities and time-stamped audit trails as well as dual passwords for document approval and password certification, expiration and encryption.

Collaboration: The MasterControl PDM Connector for PTC's Windchill Software fosters an effective communication environment by allowing users to collaborate on engineering drawings using nothing more than Adobe Reader™. Users across an organization can redline and collaborate on drawings, even those users who lack intimate knowledge of the CAD package. When collaboration introduces new changes, collaboration leaders can make the necessary modifications using the native CAD application. MasterControl then automatically publishes a new PDF file reflecting the changes made.

Notification: If missing metadata in the Windchill system causes the transfer process to fail, MasterControl automatically notifies assignable users.

Links: MasterControl InfoCards link to native drawing files, which simplifies referencing when the time comes to revise drawings. The InfoCards also support custom field data that can be directly passed from Windchill.

Update Management: MasterControl provides continuous and automatic monitoring for new and revised released-state drawings in Windchill. The system publishes a PDF main file for each new drawing using the metadata from Windchill. Similarly, revised drawings trigger revisions in MasterControl which pushes the metadata from the PDM solution to updated MasterControl InfoCards.

Integration: The MasterControl PDM Connector for PTC's Windchill Software works seamlessly with MasterControl BOM™ to provide a unified organizational structure throughout the design and manufacturing processes.

For More Information About MasterControl PDM Connector for PTC's Windchill Software

The QMS Provider for the FDA

MasterControl Inc. and its partner company, i4DM, have been the QMS providers for the FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) since 2009. The FDA recently expanded its implementation of MasterControl’s Quality Excellence™ solutions to improve the quality and audit management processes of the Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER).